Life from the viewpoint of someone who needs to be in three four places at once.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bedtime Stories and Parental Complacency

Mark and I read and enjoyed Politically Correct Bedtime Stories when it was published in 1994. (You can read an excerpted alternative version of Little Red Riding Hood here.) I forgot about the book until I stumbled upon it while cleaning out the bookshelves in the family room. I remembered it as an amusing little book. I reshelved it in Iris' room next to more conventional fairy tales and bedtime stores. She found and read it from cover to cover several times.

She wasn't satisfied. She insisted that we read one story to her every night and explain all the jokes to her. That went fine until we arrived at Snow White. Um, do I really want to explain some of those jokes to my 7 year old?

Frack, no.

Luckily, she fell asleep before the part I didn't want her to hear. I can claim that I did explain it, but she must have forgotten.